We’re talking don’t run out of bounds with a minute left in the game when your team is clinging to a three-point lead. Don’t score a go-ahead touchdown and give up valuable yards on the ensuing kickoff because you lost your head and taunted the defender after the score, drawing a flag.

The Dolphins coaching staff was happy with last year’s 10-6 record. But the same coaches were bitterly frustrated because they’re convinced the Dolphins could have been better if they’d been smarter.
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Wow, I wonder if they were referring to Damien Williams (who does the running out of bounds thing when he should stay in bounds) when they wrote this? Overall I'd agree that Asiata, McMillan, Harris and Ford seem to have it. But, I'll reserve judgement on Tankersley, Taylor and Godchaux.

I do like that we intend to move to a smarter team. Shula won a lot of games by coaching smart players to do the right things in the right circumstances. Bill Arnsparger got the most out of his defenses by getting smart people to play within the scheme. Belichick gets a lot of mileage out of getting his guys to learn and execute sound assignment football. Those are some pretty good examples of one way to get a competitive edge in this era of parity.

This article might be interesting, especially for the SPARQ proponents who were disappointed with some of our draft selections on athletic grounds. It's heavily implied that the #1 trait the Dolphins were looking for with off-season acquisitions was football intelligence.

The Dolphins coaching staff was happy with last year’s 10-6 record. But the same coaches were bitterly frustrated because they’re convinced the Dolphins could have been better if they’d been smarter.

That’s why one of this offseason’s primary goals in adding talent was also adding football smarts.

Well I like the picks from a need position stand point, a realitive injury free history standpoint plus a history of solid performance at the college level. This article just makes the draft look that much sweeter

The biggest improvement in the "smarts department" I would like to see is the elimination of most of the before and after the whistle penalties. Way too many of these either extended the opponents drives or killed our own. I like the fire that Landry plays with but sometimes you need to keep your head and not do something stupid to get penalized. That was the biggest reason I didn't mind seeing Olivier leave for the huge contract the Giants gave him.

I like this, draft talent no doubt, but you have to have guys that will do what they are supposed to do or the whole thing breaks down.
And you end up with numerous big plays in a road playoff game to get blown out. 5 yard TFL's are nice, but we need dlineman that can make stops at the line rather than leave holes. We need linebackers and safeties that can make tackles even giving up a few feet rather than whiff and give up 30 YAC. A pulling guard or center not making the right read in a secondary block is often the difference between a 6 yard run and a 25 yard run.
Pats have preached football IQ for years above all else. Receivers need to catch the ball, or the athletecism means nothing. Brady makes a living off 5 or 7 yard passes that are always caught moving forward by receivers that run good routes and don't drop the ball.
I hate preaching NE football, but when you've been to the Super Bowl 7 times in 16 years, there is no other standard worth mentioning.

Fairly certain this is the main advantage the Patriots have over other teams with similar skills - intelligence. I have sensed an extremely low football IQ on the Dolphins for many years. I like this news.

They allow so many drives to continue because of dumb penalties. Even though they won 10 games and that was awesome, there were so many times during the season I thought some of these guys have absolutely 0 football common sense. You don't need Pro Bowlers at every position. You just need smart, decent football players. One of the reasons I was fine with losing Olivier because he had so many bonehead penalties here.

Just watch the ending of the Buffalo game in Miami last year. So many dumb penalties.

A really interesting player we have picked up in the Draft is Raekwon McMillan from Ohio State. Although only 20, he was a Defensive captain on a top ranked team for the past 2 years. One should not build excessive expectations before we see him on the field. However, he sounds incredibly calm, settled, sensible and really smart. Watch the Congemi interview - Raekwon comes across as a confident natural leader, who's happy to be a Dolphin. There is a reason why Urban Meyer gave him such big responsibilities in making Defensive calls at such an early age (i.e. 18 years old) and he wasn't let down. The more I see of McMillan, the more I love this Draft pick.

Wow, I wonder if they were referring to Damien Williams (who does the running out of bounds thing when he should stay in bounds) when they wrote this? Overall I'd agree that Asiata, McMillan, Harris and Ford seem to have it. But, I'll reserve judgement on Tankersley, Taylor and Godchaux.

I do like that we intend to move to a smarter team. Shula won a lot of games by coaching smart players to do the right things in the right circumstances. Bill Arnsparger got the most out of his defenses by getting smart people to play within the scheme. Belichick gets a lot of mileage out of getting his guys to learn and execute sound assignment football. Those are some pretty good examples of one way to get a competitive edge in this era of parity.

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OK - Damien Williams made a few silly mistakes last year, but there were a lot fewer than the previous season and he consistently excelled on Special Teams. Check out the ST big plays and who is right in the action with Walt Aikens setting things up. Damien is still to re-sign but he shouldn't be discarded. He made good progress last year.

I'd guess that the Patriots have the smartest group of players in the NFL --- at least in terms of football smarts. That does win games.

I know a lot of younger media types will look at old-timers like Bob Griese and dismiss his greatness based on stats, but one thing Griese did so well was steal first downs by drawing teams offsides. He was a master at that. The little things do add up, like getting those extra yards instead of going out-of-bounds, knowing how to run out the clock etc.

Smart and physical seems to be the mantra of this offseason for the most part. Have to like that.

OK - Damien Williams made a few silly mistakes last year, but there were a lot fewer than the previous season and he consistently excelled on Special Teams. Check out the ST big plays and who is right in the action with Walt Aikens setting things up. Damien is still to re-sign but he shouldn't be discarded. He made good progress last year.

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But that wasn't my point. Who do you think they were referring to when they were talking about getting smarter and used the example of not staying in bounds when we need to run off clock?

He was the first person who came to my mind. I'm not piling on the guy. I'm trying to figure out who they are talking about who they don't think is smart. Other than Damien Williams ... who else did that?

But that wasn't my point. Who do you think they were referring to when they were talking about getting smarter and used the example of not staying in bounds when we need to run off clock?

He was the first person who came to my mind. I'm not piling on the guy. I'm trying to figure out who they are talking about who they don't think is smart. Other than Damien Williams ... who else did that?

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I think that they were referring to drafting Raekwon McMillan as our key linebacker for the future. He impressed the hell out of me in the interviews. Confident, self assured and really smart. They didn't bother getting him back down to Miami for any second interview because they were probably blown away by the first.

But that wasn't my point. Who do you think they were referring to when they were talking about getting smarter and used the example of not staying in bounds when we need to run off clock?

He was the first person who came to my mind. I'm not piling on the guy. I'm trying to figure out who they are talking about who they don't think is smart. Other than Damien Williams ... who else did that?

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The sencond sentence was all about Landry, taken his helmet off after a TD. But all that anyone is talking about is going out of bounce with under a minute left.

I think that they were referring to drafting Raekwon McMillan as our key linebacker for the future. He impressed the hell out of me in the interviews. Confident, self assured and really smart. They didn't bother getting him back down to Miami for any second interview because they were probably blown away by the first.

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Sure ... but I'm going to take that as you agree the running out of bounds comment was a shot at Williams by the coaching staff through the media. I hope he signs his tender and comes back, and I'm sure he will ... but I'm in agreement that situational football is important too. The Patriots, Steelers, Packers, and other top teams tend to not make those kinds of mistakes. I'm hoping we become one of those teams that avoids those types of mistakes too. Time to learn if they haven't already.

On the smart note, I have a lot of faith in Asiata, McMillan, Harris and Ford being smart players. I also think we have some undrafted guys who fit that mold as well. But I'm not writing off talented players just because the playbook takes them a little longer. They just need to learn.

I like drafting smart players but that's only part of the equation. Another good aspect of this draft is we steered away from players with character red flags as well as injuries that could keep them out of camp. I've been impressed with all of the interviews I've seen from a maturity and humility aspect. A few of the guys are still considered "dogs" or hard-nosed" players but yet they still come off very humble and dedicated. I like that.

I just wonder who, out of the group (if anyone) is going to be that star player that has eluded Miami's front office for years. Landry may be an exception and Tunsil will likely turn into one of those guys but if Mike T has accomplished anything in his career, it's finding the elite player on occasion. So far only Landry has come out of the gate on fire. Most of the past guys could still evolve into an elite player but they have needed time for whatever reason (injury, etc) to develop. There are definitely some good candidates this year.

Out of previous classes who is likely to turn into a top tier player?

2013: Only 1 player and he is currently in NE (Gillislie).
2014: Landry is pretty much there.
2015: Ajayi is there. Parker is my candidate. Phillips and Lippett as outside chances.
2016: Tunsil is most likely and Howard has a shot.
2017: Harris, McMillan, Asiata, Tankersley, Godchaux are all good candidates.

We had the 2nd most penalty yards in the NFL, so it is obvious we need to get smarter. We also had the youngest roster in the NFL, so that had to be expected. I think this is a contagious element of football. If you get a few guys playing smart that are the leaders it rubs off. It couldn't help that one of our biggest team leaders, Landry, had to celebrate after every first down, and got a few personal fouls. That stuff trickles down to the young guys. Hopefully Gase can lock this down this season, with out losing the edge it gave this team.

But that wasn't my point. Who do you think they were referring to when they were talking about getting smarter and used the example of not staying in bounds when we need to run off clock?

He was the first person who came to my mind. I'm not piling on the guy. I'm trying to figure out who they are talking about who they don't think is smart. Other than Damien Williams ... who else did that?

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I believe Damien Williams was also the back that stayed inbounds fighting for extra yards when we had no timeouts against Buffalo. Forcing us to rush out the field-goal unit team to try the 55 yarder.

Guys w low football IQ will get you beat - see Bengals (w Vance Joseph as D-backs coach) 2 years ago in playoffs vs Pittsburgh). Belichik has no patience for dummies. You so much as false start could cost you your job. Our coaching staff gets it.